Monday, December 31, 2012

I have been off work since Dec 21. Must go back on Wednesday. But it has been so refreshing. However, I have done a lot of shoveling. :-( Not exactly keen on that part, but it is dry and the snow is white so that is a good thing. This morning I got up and went to Home Depot for opening time. Since it is a regular work day for many people I just wanted to wander the aisles quietly and see what things they had on sale. Found a few excellent buys and now have spent the day installing organizers in closets and a very cool light piece in the kitchen.

The pups are doing great. Still dogsitting Otto, but he fits right in so it is nice to have him around. It is minus six today so we haven't been able to walk, but they don't seem to mind as they are all curled up on the bed at this moment. Otto has this one quirk: when he rides in vehicles he gets all whiny and stressed. Anyway, this vet was talking about something called a thundershirt that puts pressure on the dogs nervous system and makes them totally relax. So I went out and got him one, and now everytime we go in the truck I put it on and sure enough he rests his little head on the seat and relaxes. Now he can just enjoy the ride...and so can I. :-)

Well last week I watched that documentary about Joe Cross and his buddy Phil that started eating just veggies and fruits (SICK FAT AND NEARLY DEAD (not me yet, but I thought I would try to head it off :-) ) to cleanse their system and then switch over to a plant-based way of eating, and thought what the hey I would give it a try. So now I am on day six and I feel great. It is easy, and the most important thing is that is a logical way of eating. I had a little extra inspiration to think about health this month. My neighbor Paul, died. He was a non-smoker, non-drinker, slim, and not that old, but his heart stopped while he was sitting watching television two weeks ago. Crazy. Anyways, rather than let moments be accepted and pass with a mere "that's terrible" comment, I think they are good times to think about where improvement can be made.

Well, I am going to get going. I have a few more things to do around here. It is supposed to be really cold for the next week so I want to make sure I have things all extra organized with easy access to stuff.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Well got in my truck this morning and started driving to the meeting. Thought I was doing good, went down the big hill, no prob. Then tried to take a left onto Berry Road. It was then that I knew doing this today was a bad idea...back of truck took off toward the far bank with the fenceline below. It is funny how a person never notices how steep a bank is until you are peeling toward it. Anyway, kinda corrected things and ended nose-up on the other corner. But narrowly missing cars and trucks on-coming was a real heart-thumper. However, from what I heard at the KH it was a good thing I didn't make that corner because a bunch of cars slid all the way down and were ditched. One sister said she was sliding straight toward a sister that was walking to the KH and ditched just before she hit her. She said at that point there was nothing left to do, so she got out and walked to the hall too. I was more fortunate. I stuck my arm out the window and waved to a farmer that was out doing something. I told him that due to my back end position that I would call AAA, but he seemed to think with some wiggling and waggling that we could get back on the road. And it worked. :-) Without a second set of eyeballs though, I could never have done that. In the end I broke a couple traffic rules, but got myself to the parking lot of the Community Hall. Rather than stress, I decided to walk to the KH because I thought things may look a bit different in two hours when the meeting was over - and really I was too tired to walk home. Well, it was still snowing after the meeting, but the long route that winds around looked like it might be plowed, so myself and some other decided to use it. And here I am now frantically eating a peanut butter and banana sandwich. I know for a fact I will not drive when it is snowing again. Today was too much of a nerve shattering experience. So tomorrow morning I am going to put on the boots and walk to the bus stop. I would rather get the exercise than go through that again. Just hope the others did okay getting home too.

Friday, December 7, 2012

It has been about 4 months since I started studying with my Bible students in China. They are doing wonderful, but I have to tell you something. SYPE and other VOIP are discouraged in China and the government regulates the internet trying to prevent using these programs by cutting bandwidth when it is recognized. Apparently this became stronger this last year. So having the study can be quite challenging at times. Sometimes we have to reconnect half a dozen times to get through our chapter - but they are all so eager that it makes all the effort worth it. And often how it works is that when I say my prayer before it starts I ask for enough internet power just to make it through the study. And I was thinking tonight how funny it must sound, because usually just before the study starts to wynd down, in the last paragraph, the internet starts to crackle on the China side. Everyone knows that this means any second it is going to cut out, so we all start talking really fast all at once to get final answers and comments in. Hopefully years from now we can all laugh about these memories together. :-)